Slender Girl
by Ariana Bransford
Summary: When Jack finds a young girl, the town isn't so sure about having a human in town...but she's much, much more than any human. First frantic... enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

The 13-year-old girl ran as fast as she could in the forest. She had always been told by her father that if strangers came to try to take her away that she was to run deep in the woods. She just never really thought that it would happen. Not now.

She wondered if her father was okay, and she wanted to look back, just to see if he was alive, but she suddenly heard him speaking to her in her head.

"I told you earlier, don't look back! Whatever you do, don't look back!"

The girl's vision started to blur with tears. "Daddy," she thought-spoke. "Please...don't."

"Go." The soft thought-word hurt. She couldn't leave him. "I'll come and find you, l promise." The words soon faded as the girl got farther away from its source. The girl kept on running until she could run no more, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

When she awoke, she was in a rather large pumpkin patch, and ahead was a strange hill that was in a spiral. The moon was bright and full, and in the distance, she could see a town.

"Oh-no!" She cried, and quickly hid under the hill. "I can't go out to the town; what if that's where those men came from?" She thought aloud. "Or what if they start asking questions about me, or what if..." She begin to wonder what they would do to him, and for a moment, she felt very alone, and her tears finally came out, and they ran down her white cheeks.

As she was crying, she didn't realize that something was peering at her, until she heard a bark and looked up in surprise. It was a funny looking ghost dog with a small, Jack-o-lantern nose that glowed. The dog sniffed the girl's face, and tried to lick away her tears. She laughed at the kindhearted little dog, but froze and quickly held him close when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Zero? Where are you?" It sounded like a male voice, and it seemed very close. The footsteps got closer and closer, until they sounded like they were right over her head. Then they stopped. "Zero?" The voice was right above her. She held her breath, but the dog, however, was squirming at the sound of his name. The girl wouldn't let him go, so instead of trying to break free, he let out a loud bark. The girl gasped, and then squeezed her eyes shut, still holding the dog as the stranger jumped down from the hill and slowly approached her.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Jack observed the girl, and looked her over from head to toe for the millionth time. She had white skin, as white as Jack's bones, her hair was straight as sticks and pitch black, and the only color on her was her dark, red lips. She was wearing a black hoodie, black skinny jeans, and her black converses looked brand new. Her eyes were colorless, save for the black and white. When she stood up, she was about Sally's height.

The girl had been sitting at the table Jack had downstairs, for the past half hour now, and hadn't said a word, but she had stared at him without blinking, and still was. Ever since he had found her hiding under the spiral hill, and walked the kid to his house, and had her sit down at the table, she hadn't stopped staring. Or starting to talk.

"Who are you?" He asked for the ninety-ninth time. Silence.

Jack frowned, and walked around, trying to think of a conversation starter.

"So, how did you find this place?" Question number 672. Again, silence, but she did blink.

The girl squinted at the skeleton, then blinked again. "Am...I...dreaming? I mean..I'm not dead, am I?" She looked up at him with big eyes. Then she frowned and shook her head at her own question. "I'm not sure if it really matters, anyway." She said, more to herself then Jack, and gazed at the ghost dog fast asleep in her lap.

Jack suddenly wondered what the rest of the town would think if they found he had brought a human in Halloween town. He would have to call a town meeting to tell everyone, but he was pretty sure that they would not like the news.

The girl studied Jack for a moment, then asked, "What's your name?"

Jack was tempted to say ladies first, but thought better of it. "Jack. Jack Skellington. And, you are?"

The girl was quiet for a moment. "Emily," she said finally.

Silence. A long, silence.

"Um, how old are you?" Jack asked.

"13. I'm a bit small for my age, but dad says I'll get bigger."

Jack frowned. She didn't seem to small for her age, and she actually seemed a little to tall. He decided not to worry about that, and instead, tried to figure out how he could explain to the town she was harmless.

She stared at him again for a moment. "You know, I'm pretty harmless," she reassured Jack. He smiled, then frowned again. He hadn't said anything out loud, so how did she know he had been thinking that?

She noticed his confused expression. "Oh, um, your face pretty easy to read."

More silence. They watched as Zero made funny grunts in his sleep; he was dreaming of chasing a zombie cat, and he suddenly barked himself awake.

"So...where am I exactly?" Emily asked, after Zero started to get back to sleep.

"Halloween Town."

"Halloween?!" Emily's face lit up, and she smiled at him for the first one. "That's my favorite holiday! And my dad's, too! Well, right next to Christmas. My dad and I always hid in the bushes where we know the teenagers with lots of candy pass by, and we'll scare them so hard they drop all of their bags. Then we get the goods, and stay up late watching scary movies, and when midnight comes, we'll go on the roof of the house, and tell each other scary stories. Sometimes, we'll gamble for certain pieces of candy, but dad likes to cheat. It's still fun, though. We end up stuffing ourselves up with candy, and if the day after Halloween is a school day, then dad will call and say I can't go cuz I'm sick, but I'm usually not. And we'll keep on having fun until I need to get to school the next day."

Her smile slowly faded, and she pretended to be interested in the table for a moment, then she continued.

"We always wanted the day to last a little longer, just a few more minutes longer."

Well, at least she liked Halloween. Jack was glad he could stop worrying about that. But he couldn't help but notice that something was missing.

"Who's your mother?" He asked.

Emily was really quiet again, then spoke so soft and low, Jack almost couldn't hear her.

"She died. Trying to give birth to my baby brother. I was seven. My brother didn't make it, either."

"I'm sorry," Jack said, and quickly decided to change the subject.

"So, who is your dad?"

Emily froze for a second. "My dad? Well, umm, he's a...a business man. You know, always wearing a suit and tie." She hesitated, then added, "I'm gonna be just like him one day."

Jack smiled, and looked at the clock. 6:45. Almost seven. He decided to go see the mayor and get him to round everyone up at the town hall. They were going to have a meeting.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

"A-A...A HUMAN!?" The Mayor cried, turning to his frowning face.

"Ooohh, and in the Town!" Said Helda, the witch that was the tallest. Her sister, Gretchen, sat nervously beside her.

"We'll be found out, Jack! What if hundreds of others come!? What if others are following him!?" Asked the Mr Hydes, one after the other.

"Well, it's actually a girl," Jack corrected.

"A GIRL!?" Everyone gasped, practically shaking the entire building.

"Doesn't happen to a teen, now does she?" Asked Dr Ficklstein.

"Ummmmm, yes, actually she does happen to be a teenager. But she's alone, and she doesn't mind Halloween, and I think she's perfectly safe."

The whole town had not officially calmed, or quieted down, ever since Jack had told them about five minutes ago that a human had found its way into Halloween Town. Jack honestly wasn't to worried about it, other than the fact the town might drive him insane from them worrying about it. If anything bad did happen, he could just scare her away.

"Look, I know you mean good by it Jack," said Dr Ficklstein. "But teens are not easily contained. For all we know, she could be bringing in all her friends right now! And whatever she's told you could be a lie."

Sally, who was sitting on the hanging tree, pretended to be interested in the patchwork of her dress.

"I don't think she's lying, and she probably wouldn't go out," Jack said confidently. There was something about the girl that was different then any human.

That's when Jack looked up, and saw the town hall door open just a crack, and someone who had a black hood over their head was looking in. The figure had it's head cocked to one side, and then they looked up, right at Jack. It was Emily.

Her eyes grew wide at the sight of him, and she was out of the building before Jack could blink. He couldn't help but wonder how she was going to get back in when she finds out the door always locks people out.

"Look, until we decided what to do, she needs a place to stay for a while. Any volunteers?"

The whole room suddenly got very quiet, and some even left the building. That was one way to shut them up. "Teen girls spell trouble," Dr Ficklstein muttered, and had Helen, his wife, push him out.

"Well, I guess she'll just continue staying with me," Jack said quietly.

* * *

Jack walked to his house and unlocked it, but couldn't help but notice that Emily was nowhere to be seen outside. However, the tower light was on. He sighed. She probably left so she wouldn't feel like the odd one out. Jack thought of going out to look for her, but she could be anywhere. As he unlocked the door and went inside, he thought about calling the mayor to get a search party, but that's when he noticed for the first time that the tower light was on.

Jack slowly walked up the steps, and stopped in surprise at the top.

Emily was curled up in an armchair, asleep, by the fireplace, rapped in a blanket, and a half a dozen books were in her lap, along with Zero, who was also asleep. As Jack looked closer, he saw the books were about Christmas, and he smiled.

Emily slowly moved, opened her eyes, and saw Jack. He instantly frowned.

"Hi." Said Emily, as if she had never done anything wrong.

"Hi?" Jack stared. "Why did you leave? I thought you were going to stay here. And how did you get in?"

"I'm sorry, I just needed to know more of the town, see what they thought of me, and apparently they don't like me cuz they think I'm a total human. I really am sorry, but I guess I'm just...you know...Umm.."

Jack hesitated, then asked, "Restless?" Emily nodded.

He smiled. "Look, it's alright to go around, but at least tell me before you just run out the door. Ok?" Emily smiled back. "Sure!"

"Now the second question; how did you get back in?"

Emily's smile instantly vanished. "Oh, umm, the front door. I mean there's no other way in, right?"

Jack knew she was lying, but instead of pointing it out, he decided to play along. Maybe she would start feeling guilty, and fess up. "Right," he agreed.

She looked at the floor, and she did feel little pinprickles of guilt, but she didn't say anything about it, and instead she curled deeper in the chair. "Good-night, Jack," she murmured.

Jack shook his head, and was about to climb in bed when he felt a cold breeze come from the window. He stuck his head out, and checked to see if the tower had some sort of vine growing up the side, but there was nothing.

Why wasn't Emily telling how she got back in, and what else was she hiding? Jack couldn't help but think she had to be hiding something very important.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The next morning, Jack was rudely awakened to hear Emily rush down the stairs...then run back up them. She grinned when she spotted his sockets open.

"Bye! I'm going to explore the town! See you in an hour or two!" She said it all in a rush, and before Jack could open his mouth, Emily was out the door.

Jack pulled the cover over his head. Good grief, she was faster than a witch on a broom, and twice as sneaky. Jack wondered if Sally did the same thing to Dr Ficklestin.

"Jack?" Said a sweet, kind voice from down the stairs. It was Sally. "Are you up there?"

Jack practically shot out of bed and checked himself in the mirror, realizing that he had slept in his clothes. Oh well. He straightened his bowtie, brushed himself off, and rushed down the stairs in the same manner as that of Emily had earlier.

"Sally," he said with a smile only a Pumpkin King could do. He scooped her up in his arms, and swung her around, making Sally squeal. He gently put her down, but didn't let go of her hands. "Thank you for coming, I'm not sure what I could do without you."

"I'm glad I could make it, Jack," Sally replied. "Emily just needs someone who knows how she feels."

"Well," Jack committed, looking out the window as Emily hurried into the town square. "I think that need will have to wait an hour or two. She just left to explore the town." He sighed and plopped on the long, black couch. "I wish I could understand girl's. They're so hard to keep up with."

Sally smiled. "Well, for starters, they enjoy being free instead of cooped up in a house all the time."

* * *

Emily looked all around her. There were so many different types of monsters, and she wondered who she should talk to first. There was a man with two faces, a werewolf, a guy who looked like he was melting, a clown who looked just a little crazy, and as Emily approached the fountain, a fishlike lady emerged out of it, and peered at her.

"Hi!" Said Emily, but it just stared, and she started to get nervous. "I'm Emily."

The creature narrowed her eyes. "You're a human, and I don't like humans. So leave me alone!" With that the fishwoman splashed back in the water, leaving Emily soaking and hurt. She noticed for the first time everyone was keeping a good distance away from her, and everyone who looked her way gave her an angry, disgusted, or frightened look.

"Why don't you crawl back in the mudhole you came out of?" Snapped the gargoyle.

"Eww, a human!" Cried the witches in unison.

"Will the human kill me in my sleep?" Asked the corpse child to his mother.

Emily felt so alone once again. She was embarrassed, and she felt tears begin to rush down her cheeks, and she pulled her hood over her head in shame. She turned and started to run in the direction of Jack's house.

And she ran into someone, making them both fall.

The other was on his feet first, and was by her side in a flash. "I'm soory bout that, you a'right?" He had a kind, Louisiana accent.

Emily brushed off her tears. "I'm fine, just leave m-" She suddenly caught sight of his face, then took a good look at him. He was tall and skinny, and made of a rough, brown cloth that was similar to that of a gunny-sack's, but he was wearing a black trench coat. He had ten giant pieces of thick, black yarn for hair, so he looked like he had big dredlocks, and his eyes were similar to Jack's...sockets. However, they didn't take up half of his face. His mouth looked sewn shut, but he was smiling, revealing needles for teeth, and proving that his mouth was not sewn up. He had high cheekbones, and a small, sharp pointed chin, and as he held out his hand, Emily noticed his fingers came down to long, sharp points.

He noticed her hesitation, and his smile started to fade. "Hey, I don't bite."

He looked sincere, and he didn't seem to have anything up his sleeve, and so she took his hand. He pulled her up, and Emily noticed she was only an inch or two smaller then him.

The stranger looked her over. "So you're the human, huh?"

Emily sighed. "I know. Eww." She turned to leave, but he gently caught a hold of her arm, forcing her to turn around.

"Nah, I just never seen one before, and a..." He looked her over again. "I never knew they were so damn pretty."

Emily stared. "Are you...flirting with me?"

"Look, I know ya don't know me, but I, uh, don't often meet someone close my age. I'm 14, but I look 16, an most people round here to old or to young, and I..." He pursed his lips. "My flirt'ns pathetic, ain't it?"

Emily smiled. "Actually, I thought it was...cute."

He grinned, then scolded himself as he noticed for the first time she was soaking wet. "Man, am I an idiot," he said, as he removed his coat and rapped her up in it. "Should'a done that long time ago. So..what's your name?" He put his arm around her shoulders, and they headed in the direction of Jack's house.

"Emily. And you are?"

The boy smiled again, revealing the shiny needles. "Black. Boogie Black."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

An hour later, Emily and Black were at the gates to Jack's house.

"Well, guess I'll be go'n," Black said, as he turned to face her.

"I...I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Emily asked, feeling quite disappointed.

Black smiled. "Course I will." He hesitated like he was going to say something, but instead turned around. Then he whirled back around and kissed her on the cheek.

Emily felt her cheeks turn red, and she was speechless. He stared in her eyes for a moment, then turned around and ran off.

Emily smiled. Wow, he was so nice! She practically glided up the steps, and started to open the door, but for some reason, it wouldn't open. She frowned for a second and tried harder, but it wouldn't budge. She looked up at the window in the tower, but it was closed. Then she noticed that the chimney had no smoke coming out of it. She looked around to see if anyone was nearby, and no one was.

Emily took a deep breath, stepped back, then stretched her top half up to the roof of the tower. She quickly pulled the rest of her body up and it squished back into its normal position and shape. She looked around one more time before she slipped down the chimney. As she disappeared, Black slowly walked out from the shadows and stared in curiosity and awe, and wondered what kind of girl she was. He was certain, however, that she was some sort of monster.

He also wondered if she would return his black trench coat.

* * *

Emily landed with a loud thump in the fireplace, getting soot all over her, and making Zero, who was asleep, glide up out of his bed and start barking at her.

"Shhh! You're gonna get me in trouble! Hush! Hush!"

Zero was barking at the coat, however, not her, because he smelled someone familiar. Someone he didn't like at all.

"Zero? What is it?" Jack called from downstairs, making Emily gulp. She hadn't thought about Jack still being here. Footsteps on the steps could be heard, and she scrambled to get up and find a place to hide, but there weren't very many options.

Zero's barks were getting louder, and he even growled at the coat. "Please, hush!" But Jack had already gotten to the top of the stairs, and he froze at the sight of her.

"Umm, I know this looks bad, but I can explain!" Emily cried as Zero started to pull on the coat.

"How did you get in through the chimney? And..." He paused as he pulled off the coat, and he started to get angry. "And what's THIS!?"

Emily had never seen him mad, and she took a tiny step back. "It's a coat. F-From a friend. I meant to give it back, but I forget I had it on."

"Who, may I ask?" He was getting angrier by the second.

"Boogie Black."

"Boogie Black?!" Jack practically exploded. "He's that no-good son of Oogie Boogie's! Why would you even associate with him?!"

"Jack!" Sally had reached the top and had gotten Zero to stop barking, and now she tried to calm Jack down. "She probably doesn't know about Oogie. Go easy on her, she's just a kid."

"But Sally, he could-"

"No buts, Bone Man!" Sally pulled the coat out of his grasp, and put it on the chair.

"Excuse me, but who's Oogie Boogie?" Emily asked.

"Well," begin Sally, but Jack interrupted her.

"He's dangerous, and his son's probably nothing but trouble, so I suggest you stay away from him."

"Black's not trouble," said Emily. " He's sweet and charming!" She scooped up the coat, and draped it around her shoulders, twirling about the room, making Zero start to growl again.

"His flirting a bit cheesy, but I think it's sweet anyway. And...he...he..."

"He...what?" Jack asked, getting a little nervous.

"He...He kissed me on the cheek," Emily said it in a dreamy voice as she flopped on the bed.

"He...KISSED YOU!?"

"Yeah, it was so romantic."

Meanwhile, Sally was trying to keep from laughing, but a few snickers escaped.

"How is it," Jack said, turning to Sally, "That you find this funny?"

She never got to answer because the doorbell screamed. "JAAACK!" It was the Mayor at the front door, and from the sounds of it, he wasn't the only one there.

Jack hurried down the stairs and opened the door. In came the Mayor and the whole town right behind him, and they all looked satisfied.

"I've gotten a petition signed by everyone! Everyone, that is, save for you, Jack! And Sally, of course," the Mayor said, handing a piece of paper to Jack.

"A petition for what?" Emily asked, as she looked at the paper.

"For getting rid of you!" Cried Helda, and the townspeople begin to crowd all around Emily.

"We don't want a human!"

"You're nothing but trouble!"

"You're not one of us!"

"Stop it!" Jack roared, but no one could hear him.

"You don't belong here!"

"She's just a girl!" Sally pleaded, but her voice was drowned out.

"Why can't you leave us alone!"

"Please leave me alone," Emily's voice was a whisper, her eyes were closed, and she had her arms rapped around herself. But they wouldn't stop.

"Who else knows your here!?"

"Why are you here?!"

Suddenly, Emily's eyes opened, but they were white. Her nose quickly disappeared in her face, and her lips seemed to melt together, so other than her eyes, she looked like she didn't have a face. "I said to Leave. ME. ALONE!" As she said this, her arms, legs, and entire body stretched until she was several feet taller than everyone else. At the base of the back of her neck, at least five, black tentacles and five, black, spider-like legs suddenly grew out, and were each at least nine feet long. The townspeople stared in terror and silence for a moment as Emily looked at them.

Then she let out an ear-splitting screech that threatened to destroy the house. It seemed to be coming from her skin.

"Run for your lives!" Cried the Mayor, and total chaos broke out. Everyone rushed for the door at once causing a jam, and no one could get out. Emily snatched up the Mayor and Heather, the fishwoman, with her tentacles, and begin to raise them high in the air.

Jack quickly stood in front of her. "Emily!" He cried, getting her attention. "Put them down, and stop this right now!" His voice matched hers in volume, but for a second he wasn't sure if she would listen to him.

Emily froze, then turned Jack, just staring at him. Then she slowly lowered the two monsters and put them back on the ground, still staring at him.

Jack gulped, and lowered his voice a little. "Just..calm down, ok?"

There was a long pause as Emily stared at him a little longer, then she slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were normal, and her face was back to normal. But her eyes closed again, the limbs that had come out of her back sucked back in, and her body shrunk back to normal, and she collapsed on the floor.

Jack slowly approached her, then knelt beside her. "Emily?" He gently shook her, but she didn't move. He suddenly realized that the entire town was still in his house, and he didn't want Emily to do...whatever she did...again. "Mayor, could you escort everyone, except Sally, safely to their homes?" Jack asked.

The Mayor, who was quite shaken up, was rather glad to get out of the house, as was everyone else, and they were all gone in less than a minute.

Jack shook Emily a tiny bit harder, but she still didn't move. Sally peered over Jack's shoulder, and Zero hurried up and licked Emily across the face, and that woke her up.

"Hey Zero," she murmured, and she unsteadily got to her feet. "Wow," she said, and started to fall again. Jack caught her and carefully placed her on the couch, and Zero hurried up to her lap.

"Now, umm, could you please explain what just happened?" Jack asked, as Sally sat by Emily.

Emily blinked her eyes a few times, then smiled. "Yes!" She cried, leaping off the couch and dumping Zero on the floor on accident, but it didn't sound like she really heard Jack's question. "I finally got my limbs!" Her smile suddenly faded as fast as it had appeared, and she fell back on the couch. "Oooh, I guess this is the hangover-type after affect dad ment. I've never had a hangover, but he said that this would be five times worse."

"Human's don't just grow extra limbs, Emily," Jack said, crossing his arms. "What have you been hiding?"

Emily sighed, and looked down at Zero, who had come back in her lap. "Well, I guess I better tell him, huh?"

"Emily, you need to tell me now. What is it?"

"It kinda starts with what I first lied to you about. You know how I said my dad was a business man, with a suit and tie and all?"

"Go on."

"Well, he's not really a business man. I mean, he does wear a suit and tie, but he's more like you."

"He is?"

"Yeah, only he's not a skeleton. He's Slender Man."


End file.
